Diamond Foundry has been fined $12,000 by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries after three “serious” safety violations – which have since been corrected – were found at its diamond growing facility in Wenatchee.
The three violations all related to the factory’s energy control programme, which is designed to ensure that workers are protected from stored energy or the unexpected start-up of machinery or equipment.
The state found that Diamond Foundry did not have a complete written energy control programme, did not document its energy control procedures in writing, and did not train employees to understand the programme, according to the citation.
Two of the serious violations resulted in $6,000 in fines; the third was not cited. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines a “serious” violation as one where “there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm will result from an existing condition”.
Diamond Foundry was also cited for two other safety issues – one related to the labelling of a lock and tag on a circuit breaker, and the other related to testing employees’ knowledge of the energy control program. These violations were not classified as “serious” and the company was not fined for them.
The violations have been corrected and the fines paid, according to the citation. According to OSHA, the inspection of the Diamond Foundry facility was in response to a “complaint”.
Diamond Foundry CEO Martin Roscheisen tells JCK: “We are proud that our diamonds come from places where there are really strict safety standards in place to protect the workers. We [took] one for the team for not having the required documentation in place and have corrected this and are doubling down to meet the most stringent safety standards in the world”.
He referred JCK to this chart showing that 29 people will die in US mines in 2022.
The news was first reported by the Wenatchee World, a local website. It comes shortly after Washington Governor Jay Inslee visited the factory.
Diamond Foundry has signed a deal to start producing diamonds in Wenatchee in 2019.
